Behold, an artist's rendering of the Captain in his fancy Governor's clothes!  And if you can bare to overlook the fact that the artist screwed up by having BOTH the Captain's ruffled shirt and cravat stick out (he never, never did this in any ORIGINAL painting that I have ever seen of him.  He kept his ruffles, like his emotions, perfectly hidden away from the casual observer....)  Inaccuracies aside.... isn't the sight of a frock in the national color just breathtaking? 

I have ventured to tailor a coat just like the lovely one above for my dad.  My wool has been patterned and cut, and now the exciting task of hand-sewing (you read that correctly, hand-sewing) the frock.

One front panel has had the interfacing and back side attached, and I have a couple pictures to share.

The pointy part at the top right of the picture is the lapel. I will try to post more pictures as I progress with this.  Encouragement is always appreciated as it might help me not procrastinate.

This is not some random dress posted because it is pretty, though it be ever so pretty.  This is, in fact, the inspiration for the dress I am going to wear to the Captain's birthday party this August.  I'll share pictures of the new dress as soon as the dress is completed.

Presented for your approval is a hum-dinger of fashion plate.  This image has not been altered or photoshopped in any manner; it is, in fact, exactly in the condition of which I first saw it.  While the French are very progressive and open about things, I certainly hope the gentleman in this image is not doing what I *think* he might be engaged in. 

I shall strive to put on my rose-colored spectacles and, henceforth, create a very explanatory story for this gentleman: He has hidden within the flaps of his fall-front pantaloons a bag of Lay's potato chips.  And just like the Emperor before him who always kept a bag inside his coat... this gentleman simply cannot eat just one.  He also has a CapriSun hidden in his hat.

current mood: shocked

Here's the finished Spenser that I wrote about last October.  It is a navy blue wool with frog closures.  The band on each the cuff did end up being eliminated simply because the wool was too thick to turn for bands; however, I am quite pleased with the finished product. 

The front (with a dress underneath):

Detail of the back:

And next, here's the chemise shift that I hand-sewed all by my little lonesome.  I made it out of a nice white linen, and although the color is slightly off in the pictures, it is snow white.  The actual stitching didn't take that long--about a week's worth of evenings.

Detail of the underarm gusset:

And finally.... this isn't exactly seamstry, but I am quite proud of my latest paint job.  I hand-painted this wooden canteen.  Although you cannot tell from the photo, it took a lot of patience to keep from getting paint all over the metal bands on the edges.  I am quite proud of it, especially the initials "U.S."  I bought it to drag along on my rambles through the Park and came close to just staining it, but then I decided to paint it up so that Capt. Daddy could use it on living history events instead of dragging around his anachronistic glass coke bottle. 

I am now in the process of sewing a blue (national color) frock for Dad.  It should be quite nice when I complete it—navy wool with big brass buttons.  At least I can get away with snurching in my sewing while volunteering at the museum this month.  Early pioneer women often occupied their time with sewing, you know.

current mood: creative